Apparently, it’s a lot easier than I’d have thought to make a hero. It’s most just being dramatic and putting on a show.

…And also giving a mortal a title – not even a Title! – as well as some kind of ‘imbued object’, basically a symbol tied to the god in question somehow.

I know just the object, though I guess it’s probably a lot more tied to Astraea than it is to me.

But that’s fine. I guess I kind of am her now.

Maybe grandmother is right. Maybe I should just accept it.

So why do I still feel this twinge inside myself, like that’s wrong? Wrong enough that I still need to deny it?

Something inside me still strongly tells me that I’m not her, not supposed to be her.

Then what am I supposed to be?

…

I guess it doesn’t matter right now. What does, is that I apparently have a sister, a former hero, and she’s still sobbing in her bedchambers. I wasn’t able to convince her to leave.

Which I guess is fine for the moment. I have work to do.

***

With the help of both Markus and Nyx, I’ve managed to ‘reconsecrate’ the magic item I’ve decided to use as a loci for Eleonor’s becoming my own personal hero – to match my own personal angel of envy, monster wives, corps of a whole two knights, and so forth I guess.

For whatever ‘reconsecrate’ means, anyway. Nyx said something about spiritual corruption? But as far as I could tell with the words of creation, it was plenty usable to begin with.

Anyway, the process only took part of a morning.

Now I just need to drag my ‘little sister’ from her hiding spot under the blankets to a place of ‘religious significance’ for me. I’m… not entirely sure what that means either.

But that’s alright. I’ll make a place significant.

And so I knock on Eleonor’s door and promptly enter without waiting for a response – if I’m going to become her patron god then she needs to be willing to listen to me on my terms.

…

I’m not sure why that feels right either, but I guess I’ll go with it like everything else.

“Mmm?” the blanket pile murmurs, but I don’t wait for more than that either, forcefully removing her covers and scooping her up. Lacking a Class, she definitely doesn’t have the strength to resist. Not that she so much as squirms… it looks like she’s more or less just accepted that everything is gone.

Although I don’t miss the small smile on her face as I wrap her up. Really though, Ebisu couldn’t even restore her old Class? What a jerk.

I am SO going to eat him.

“Come along, ‘sister’, I’m going to fix this.”

And she says nothing. That’s okay, I can work with a ragdoll as well as any other.

A few moments later, we’re in the place I’ve chosen to have religious significance to me… the upper ramparts where Artemis and I restored the moon, under the stars and the eternal night of my plane.

My home.

I set the former hero down in front of me, with the moon to my back.

And then I say, in the most pompous tone I can manage, “Eleonor, I offer you the role of Hero of Night. Do you accept?”

***

She readily did, of course. And she was so excited to see her boon as well – the Sunsbane Athame, freshly reconsecrated and brimming with my own mana. The link between us now is apparently tied more to the tool than the two of us, but that’s fine. As long as she has it in her possession she can receive ‘divine inspiration’ (really just telepathic communication) from me.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Also, she can apparently spontaneously recall it as long as she’s under the night sky if she should ever lose it. Which, considering her personality, is probably a good thing.

I didn’t expect it, I’ll admit, but maybe I should have… besides having a new Class, she evolved from it. I wonder what a ‘nox draconis’ is, but I guess that doesn’t matter, other than that she’s a ‘least’ of it, and that she’s definitely a monster race. So she has room to grow, and isn’t limited by humanlike characteristics or sensibilities. She even has innate Skills now!

…Although at level 0 again, she’s got a long road ahead of her. I debated shoving some levels into her, but between Izzy and Arty I got enough brow furrows to convince me otherwise… at least for now.

Anyway, Eleonor hasn’t stopped chattering excitedly about her new gains ever since we sat for tea.

…Which I assume is another Astraea thing. It seems rather pointless to spend so much time sitting around sipping leaf water with humans.

“-And I have infernal and celestial magic now! Oh and what’s a ‘breath weapon’? I mean it’s pretty obvious what Hardened Scales does, they’re definitely thicker and sharper than before. I almost cut myself with them earlier! But um, the other scales were too hard so I just left a scratch, see? Oh wait, did it heal up? Holy crap, my scales heal! How does that work?”

“Eleonor,” I interrupt, “you’ve used a dagger before, yes?”

She nods excitedly. “Before Ebisu – OW! What? Why did that hurt?”

I chuckle. “He probably banned you from saying his name or touching his symbol or whatever. Themis did something similar to me and Izzy when I stole her.”

“That’s still so weird, stealing a wife from a god. I didn’t know you could even do that! Do you think the others know it’s possible? Maybe it’s just taboo, like they’re not supposed to so nobody does it?”

“ELEONOR, focus,” I say pointedly. “The question? Daggers? Have you?”

“Yes! Before Eb… other guy made me a hero, I used daggers. I had to learn how to use a shortsword! Oh, and it’s gone now, but you probably knew that. I do have the Skill though! It’s a lot lower level than my dagger Skill.”

“Good. I want you to train with the others in the old forest dungeon. The upper levels should be easy enough for you to manage with them, especially if they weaken monsters for you first.”

“Hey? Can I ask something?”

“Like what?”

“Do you ever feel wrong about it? Killing monsters I mean, since you are a monster. And I am too, I guess. I don’t know how to feel about that? Are they evil or something?”

“They’re not evil at all. They’re my own minions, just like every other monster on the plane. Or at least here anyway… no idea about monsters elsewhere. Also, when I was newly reborn, some of my first prey were my own kin from the ghost traps around the old sewer settlement, where I met Nerin.”

It’s… strange that I feel a pang of something mentioning the eldra, but I certainly don’t feel like dwelling on it now.

…

Well, maybe they’ll reincarnate-

(She. Nerin was a woman,) Nyx interjects.

Oho, there you are! You’ve been quiet lately.

(I haven’t had anything that needed saying I guess. Plus I’ve been busy designing new tools, it’s been handy having and actual crafter around that I can direct, since I still don’t have any crafting Skills.)

That’s fair. I’m still going to give you one sometime, just. Maybe when I’m better prepared for the consequences. Considering all the work you’ve done, I’m surprised you haven’t already gotten a general Skill for it… or were they all Class Skills?

(Bingo, genius. When I lost my Class, I lost everything.)

And gained a pair of wings!

She sighs through our link. (Wings that I needed less than my Skills, but whatever I guess. I never really expected you to understand that.)

I simply shrug back.

***

My scales are black!

Like, very black. Could they be any blacker? The answer is… I’m not sure!

Maybe!

I wonder if grandpa will recognize me? Probably not! I’ve been yellow-green ever since I hatched, so I’m really different now. Plus all my scales are pointy at the ends! They overlap a lot more than they used to. I tried pulling on one earlier to see what would happen, and I couldn’t get it to budge. Maybe it’s that innate Skill thing? Innate Skills are a monster thing, so if I wasn’t sure if I was a monster before I definitely am now. Which is fine! I can already feel my lifespan is a lot longer now… and that’s great! It means I get to spend a lot more time with sister!

Although… I bet the others back at the swamp are going to die out before me… and that’s sad.

But not sad enough to keep me from being happy about this!

My new Class is some kind of assassiny thing. I’m not really sure how to use it, but it definitely has some Skills I have some idea what to do with, like Shadow Movement and Silent Step. Those would have been really handy when I was a scout! Although I guess I could do that again now… but I’m a hero, right? I’m supposed to fight stuff, not just slink around?

Sister did tell me that slinking around was fine, and that Artemis does that a lot when she’s not clinging to her, so apparently that’s a thing strong people do. So there’s nothing wrong with it!

***

[Status] 

[Name: Eleonor] 

[Race: Nox Draconis (Least)] 

[SYSTEM: TYPE B – Level 378 – XP 975/379000] 

[Inherent Skills:] 

[Breath Weapon (Shadow)] 

[Hardened Scales] 

[Class: Night’s Razor – Level 0 – XP 0/1000] 

[Class Skills: None] 

[General Skills:] 

[Dimensional Storage 6] 

[Identify 12] 

[Stealth 15] 

[Language] 

[Interplanar Common] 

[Saurian] 

[Shadowborne] 

[Traits:] 

[Blessed of Envy] 

[Blessed of Hunger] 

[Blessed of Night] 

[Sister of Hunger] 

[Titles:] 

[Accelerated Growth] 

[Hero of Night (Nemesis)]